NIV Job 3 Chapter
3:1
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
3:2
He said:
3:3
"May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, `A boy is born!
3:4
'That day--may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it.
3:5
May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light.
3:6
That night--may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months.
3:7
May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it.
3:8
May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.
3:9
May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn,
3:10
for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.
3:11
"Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?
3:12
Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed?
3:13
For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest
3:14
with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
3:15
with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
3:16
Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?
3:17
There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.
3:18
Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver's shout.
3:19
The small and the great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.
3:20
"Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul,
3:21
to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure,
3:22
who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave?
3:23
Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?
3:24
For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water.
3:25
What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.
3:26
I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."